Tenzing (Tanker 001, Astro Digital Demo 8)

Astro Digital Demo 8 (Shasta) [Astro Digital]

Astro Digital Demo 8 or Tenzing is a technology demonstration mission.

Demo-8 is a technology demonstration of a Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (“RAFTI”) – an auxiliary propellant tank, fill/drain valve, and docket adapter, on-board propulsion systems, a Benchmark hydrogenperoxide thruster and a Tiled Ionic Liquid Electrospray (TILE) electric propulsion, which will each perform thruster firings to assess maneuvering capabilities for future collision-avoidance, spacecraft-disposal activities, and future rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking (“RPOD”) activities; and two stereoscopic cameras, which will conduct non-Earth imaging to assess imaging capabilities for future RPOD activities.

The spacecraft bus is the Corvus-Micro design. The satellite bus uses reaction wheels, magnetic torque coils/rods, star tracker(s), magnetometers, sun sensors, and gyroscopes to enable precision 3-axis pointing without the use of propellant. The system concept of operations is to perform multiple low delta-V maneuvers to demonstrate the functionality of the propulsion systems and on-board control software as well as manage the orbital phasing. The on board propulsion systems will not be used to maintain any specific orbital parameters but rather to demonstrate the capabilities to maneuver. A sufficient amount of propellant will be reserved to support an end of mission set of de-orbit maneuvers to accelerate the passive de-orbit of the satellite as well as for collision avoidance maneuvers.